This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 60/508,105, which was filed on Oct. 2, 2003.
This application relates to inventions that use fixed inkjet printing pens to apply various inks to substrates of various types. The inventions described herein are owned by the same assignee that owns the inventions shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,636 issued Jan. 4, 2005 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,672 issued Apr. 16, 2002, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Printing stations are known in the art, and it is well known to use fixed inkjet printing pens to apply various inks to a substrate (typically on moving media). Printing applications in which the inventions disclosed herein may be used include printing envelopes, continuous paper stock (for making tickets, and forms etc.) and packaging, including cardboard boxes of various shapes and sizes.
The imager disclosed herein has several advantages over printing systems in the prior art. The imager disclosed herein is very compact and flexible in that it can be used in a wide variety of configurations and orientations, including printing vertically downwardly or horizontally onto the side of a carton, for example.
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the inventions described and claimed herein or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the inventions described herein are not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.